Huskies’ Mike Hopkins named assistant coach for Team USA U19 World Cup

University of Washington head coach Mike Hopkins coaches the team in the second half. The Washington Huskies played the California Golden Bears in a NCAA basketball game at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Wash., on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019.
Joshua Bessex
joshua.bessex@gateline.com

Washigton’s Mike Hopkins has been named an assistant coach for the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team. Kansas State’s Bruce Weber will serve as head coach while North Carolina-Central’s LeVelle Moton was also selected as an assistant.

Purdue coach Matt Painter chairs the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Committee, which is responsible for selecting the U.S. coaching staff. The staff is theb approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.

“Bruce Weber, Mike Hopkins and LeVelle Moton have been very successful with each of their programs, and the three together will provide great leadership for the USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team,” Painter said in a release. “With a combination of USA Basketball and NCAA Division I coaching experience, the committee believes these coaches will best represent USA Basketball and create the opportunity to win a gold medal.”

Hopkins has previous coaching experience with USA basketball. He served as the head coach of the 2012 USA Select Team that trained against the 2012 USA Men’s National Team. He was also a staff assistant for the USA Men’s National Team from 2008 to 2016, including at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games and the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Cup.

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In his second season as the Huskies’ head coach, Hopkins led UW to a 27-9 record, a Pac-12 regular season championship and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He has a 48-22 overall record with the Huskies.

“It’s an honor to be named one of the coaches for the USA U19 Team and have the opportunity to coach alongside Coach Weber and Coach Moton,” Hopkins said in a release. “There’s nothing greater than representing your country and having the chance to once again be involved is just going to be a great experience.”

Training camp to select the 12-member team will be held June 15-18 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Finalists are expected to be announced on June 18. The roster will be revealed before the team’s departure on June 24. The FIBA U19 World Cup will be held from June 29-July 7 in Heraklion, Greece.